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Police Blotter, June 11, 2014

Man accused of trying to kiss feet - again

The following accounts were taken from Columbia County Sheriff’s Office incident reports:

Man accused of trying to kiss feet – again

A Langley man accused of trying to kiss women’s feet in area retail stores two years ago was at it again Thursday.

Joey W. Leaphart, 45, of Tutt Street, was recognized by a woman who said he asked to kiss her feet at a restaurant near Interstate 20.

The 42-year-old woman said she, her daughter and a friend were leaving Cook Out restaurant on Jimmie Dyess Parkway at about 7:15 p.m., when she said a man approached them in the parking lot. He said he was from Atlanta and was in town for a funeral. He told the ladies he’d lost his wallet and begged for gas money to get home. The woman said she and her friend gave the man some money. They said he seemed very grateful and even asked for their names and address so he can repay the money.

As the ladies were leaving, they say the man asked one more thing, to kiss the woman’s feet. He said it might bring her good luck as his wife won $1,000 right after he kissed her feet. The woman said she felt very uncomfortable, so she closed her car door and drive away. She then looked on a local crime Web site and recognized Leaphart as the man who was accused of kissing women’s feet at the Grovetown Walmart in 2012. He was not charged in one incident, because the victim consented to the contact. He was charged in Aiken County for similar incidents in 2012. Leaphart was arrested again on Friday in Aiken County for failure to comply with the sex offender registry.

Man contacted about hiring a hitman

A Martinez man said someone contacted him Sunday about a hitman he contacted online.

The man said he received text messages regarding him contacting a hitman on www.craigslist.com. The phone is registered to him but used by his father.

The man said he received multiple messages stating the hitman was hired to kill the husband or boyfriend of a woman. The author of the messages wrote the targeted man drives a silver vehicle and has an accent. The man said he believes the caller knows him because he also drives a silver car and speaks with an accent. He is unsure if the caller intended to contact him or his 67-year-old father.

While a deputy was at the man’s home, he received a call from a blocked number. The man answered the phone on speaker. The deputy heard a man with a Jamaican or island accent make several threats to the man. When the deputy identified himself, the caller hung up and didn’t answer when the deputy called back.

Woman said boyfriend hit her

A woman called authorities early Friday stating her boyfriend beat her repeatedly.

The 33-year-old woman called from a Circle K on Fury’s Ferry Road. She said her boyfriend got drunk and punched her between 3 and 5:40 a.m. The woman said she hit her in the mouth causing her lip to swell and then punched her in the head and body. She said he then dragged her to the bathroom and tried to drown her in the toilet. The woman, who said her boyfriend had been physically abusive to her for about a week, said he then cut her arm with a knife. The deputy found numerous bruises and dried blood on the woman. The deputy photographer the woman’s injuries and obtained video surveillance footage from the Circle K store showing the boyfriend buying alcohol before the incident.

Elderly couple receives threats

A Harlem woman said she received threats and harassing phone calls after removing her husband from a nursing home, where she said he was abused. The 72-year-old woman said her husband received numerous calls at their home between April 9 and Friday. The caller states, “We know what room you are in,” and “We know what kind of car you drive.” The woman said she’s answered calls when the caller claims to be watching her. The woman said the incidents started happening after she brought her husband home from a nursing home, where she said he was abused and neglected.

Gas stolen from pantry’s truck

The manager of an Appling food pantry called deputies Thursday after discovering gasoline missing from the charity’s truck. The manager of Columbia County Cares food panty said that between May 19 and Thursday, someone broke two locking gas caps off a 1997 Ford truck that was parked in an open garage of the building at 1959 Appling-Harlem Highway. About 70 percent of the truck’s gasoline was gone.